Evening capital., 1887-08-13

PAPsR NO. 2.


to the protection Of his neighbors'
and incidently to sugar as one of the
articles of necessity on which he had
to pay excessive tax. There are only
three articles of Importance in which
the agriculturalist is specially inter-
csted on which there is any prohibi-
tive tariff-sugar, rice, and wool.
Let us look at the tariff on sugar:
While this tax has benefited the
few, in the main it has been one of
the worst engines of oppression in
the whole system. The sugar crop
of the United States in 1885, was
valued at 20, 100000 dollars. The
tariff collected on sugaB, that year
amounted $40. 200, 900, in other
words the masses Of the people paid
this immense sum to protect few
citizens of Louisiana and Southern
Mississippi. The old standard OF esti.
mating value, (the Dutch standard)
was by the color. Let US take the
results Of this and apply it to our
own locality. Baltimore at one
time held the position of being one
of the leading sugar marts of this
country. BY the action of her Gus
tom House authorities, on the as
sumption that foreign sugars were
artificially colored in order to reduce
their taxable value, such restraints
we're thrown around it as to entire
ly break up its refining interests, and
such houses as Sterling & Ahrens,
kirkland, Case s. Co., went by the
board. w. Ii. Perot & Co., G.
Morton Stewart & Co., and 9TH
ers ran fleets of vessels to the sugar
ports, and now to day such thing
as a cargo of raw sugar in the Balti-
more market is an unknown thing.
After the houses had been bank
rupted, the sugar refineries closed,
aud the fleet of vessels driven from
the seas, commissioner (Mr. w.
NJ. Bnsey, of Baltimore) was sent to
the West Indies to ascertain wheth-
er not the dark coloring was not ar
officially done for the purpose of re-
ducing standard, and~i in due time
reported, that IL scas not, and that it
was the result of the process of boil
ing. Cargoes of sugars had been seiz
ed and released, by owners bonding
for them, but the business had been
broken up, and all gone to New
York, Boston, Portland and Phila-
delphia, and the refineries of Balti-
more to-day stand as monumental
reminders of an iniquitious system.
Sugar to-day is very cheap, even un-
der the protective system, and this
is used as an argument by tie
friends of protection in favor of the
system. But take the facts: the
duty on sugar is about on an
average q cents per pound. All
persons who are familiar with the
import and export laws are aware
of the fact that whenever a party de-
sires to re-export dutiable goods that
have been imported and on which
the duty has been paid, that he has
only to load his cargo and file
bond at the Custom House to the
effect that he will produce consular
landing certificates for the specific
goods at the port for which they are
destined and he is reimbursed the
amount of duties paid. Under this
state of affairs while we are paying,
say cents per pound for our sugar,
our reiiners are selling American re-
fined sugars in the European mark
cts at 81 to 4 cents per pound. Now
agriculture is one of our greatest
sources of wealth, and our agricul-
turalists are the largest single con-
stituent of our population. In view
of these facts, is SO large a part of
our population willing to be over
taxed for the benefit of the few?-
Had we not better buy the sugar
plantations and work them as
Government farm than to pay such